James Bond is known for his insane gadgets and cool stunts, but also for his totally unglued villains. When it comes to Rube Goldberg schemes, James Bond's enemies are the greatest. Just watch this clip where Blofeld hypnotizes a woman to love chickens! Here are the most insane James Bond villain plots of all time. »2/13/15 9:49pm 2/13/15 9:49pm

Fantasy has lots of sex workers or courtesans who also work as spies — but for our money, the best is Phèdre nó Delaunay de Montrève, the hero of the first Kushiel trilogy by Jacqueline Carey. She thwarts a major conspiracy, stops an invasion, saves her country and avenges her master... with kinky sex. »2/13/15 3:40pm 2/13/15 3:40pm

In celebration of Spy Week over at io9, I'd like to engage in one of my favorite pastimes: trying to convince people to watch something I love. It should be easy in this case, as I have a wealth of reasons why Danger Man (known in the States as Secret Agent Man, yes, as in the song), starring Patrick McGoohan, is… »2/13/15 4:39pm 2/13/15 4:39pm

Kingsman: The Secret Service comes out this week, the latest in a long line of spy fiction featuring British secret agents. And that brings to mind the question of why so many of our most famous fictional spies are British. »2/13/15 1:30am 2/13/15 1:30am

You don't need to be Bond to get your own spy gadgets. You've already got the ultimate spy tool in your pocket: a smartphone. And who would suspect you're spying when you're probably just texting a friend? Here are the apps and peripherals you need to take your phone on a covert mission without Q in your corner. »2/12/15 3:06pm 2/12/15 3:06pm

Nobody should be surprised that spy satellites are kept secret. But it's actually more complicated. The launches are aired, but with scheduled media blackouts. We get mission patches, but no details on the nature of the payload. But the weirdest thing is how easy it is to track these satellites.»2/12/15 11:40am 2/12/15 11:40am

You probably don't remember quite how skeevy David Hasselhoff could get on Knight Rider. So here's a refresher course, compiled for you by the peeps at NBC.com and premiered exclusively at io9. »2/12/15 11:30am 2/12/15 11:30am

This weekend Kingsman, the movie director Matthew Vaughn left the "800 million dollar gorilla" Days of Future Past to make, hits theaters. And with it come back the glory days of actually fun spy movies — something Vaughn thinks is sorely lacking in today's culture. »2/12/15 11:00am 2/12/15 11:00am

One of the things that make fictional spies interesting characters is the tension between who they really are and who they are pretending to be. And how many lies they are telling. So who has the best deep cover? Tell us! »2/12/15 2:30am 2/12/15 2:30am

If you've seen a brainwashed secret agent in fiction recently, it probably owes a lot to The Manchurian Candidate, the Academy Award-winning 1962 film based on the novel by Richard Condon. As great as the film is, the greatest character in it is Angela Lansbury as Eleanor Iselin. »2/12/15 1:30am 2/12/15 1:30am

The 24th James Bond film's first official behind-the-scenes footage has just been tweeted by the official account. And it looks like we'll be getting the giant snow chase scene that is required of any Bond film that visits the Alps. »2/11/15 11:25pm 2/11/15 11:25pm

As you might have expected, when Guy Ritchie takes on the iconic 1960s spy-fi series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., the result is cool-looking, self-mocking, and full of funny action. At least, this first trailer makes the U.N.C.L.E. movie look like a total blast. »2/11/15 5:15pm 2/11/15 5:15pm

Most of us can't help it: When we think about spies, we think about James Bond. And when we think about James Bond, we think about his gadgets. But real life spies use gadgets too—and there's no more amazing category of spy gadget than the camera. »2/11/15 6:08pm 2/11/15 6:08pm

Just in time for spy week: CIA veteran Lynn Boughey and International Spy Museum executive director Peter Earnest's book Harry Potter and the Art of Spying, which analyzes the spy techniques in J.K. Rowling's fantasy novels, is free today on Kindle.»2/11/15 1:50pm 2/11/15 1:50pm

The "Men's Adventure" novel is a strange thing. At the height of its popularity, in the late 60s and 70s, it was being written by dozens of peculiar and reclusive authors. But the influence of this weird genre is still felt today. Here's the strange history of Mack Bolan and his many imitators. »2/11/15 1:15pm 2/11/15 1:15pm

As is traditional for io9 nights here during spy week, we're following up the essay on my pick for the best spy fiction within a category with a chance for you to have your say. Use the poll below or simply battle away in the comments — you're giving all of us a bunch of new recommendations, so, really, everyone's a… »2/11/15 2:30am 2/11/15 2:30am

Fictional spies aren't restricted to stories in more modern times, filled with gadgets and acronyms. There are also spies in traditional sword and sorcery fantasy. Of all those creations, the best one is the entire country of Drasnia in David Eddings' The Balgariad and its sequels, prequels, and side works. »2/11/15 1:30am 2/11/15 1:30am

We've loved the Spy vs. Spy comics in Mad Magazine forever — but for the last 17+ years, they've been the work of comics superstar Peter Kuper. And Kuper's take on the two dueling spies is anarchic, and wonderful to behold. »2/10/15 7:00pm 2/10/15 7:00pm